Adventures of the Dovahkiin: The Child
by commandocucumber
Summary: A traveler must make a difficult choice.


**Adventures of the Dovahkiin: The Child**

The child wept. Her sobs were quiet, yet nevertheless echoed through the rocky canyons of The Reach, and could be heard above the distant roar of rapids and waterfalls. Beside her strode a Nord. Easily recognizable, as he possessed his race's tall, burly frame, and broad shoulders. His armour was scant – little more than thick layers of leather and fur to keep out the cold. Slung across his back was a worn iron shield. Sharp eyes peered out from under thick brows. His long dark hair fell loosely across the white fur of his cloak, and he had grown a thick, grizzled beard.

At their backs was the crumbling ruin of the broken tower redoubt. Corpses were strewn on the ground around its entrance, and hung from the parapets high above their heads.

"Stop sniveling, child." He prompted gruffly, "you will wake the dead with all of that noise."

"…S-sorry…" she sniffed and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, "there were so many dead bodies…"

"Not an uncommon sight. You will grow used to it in Skyrim."

"You killed all of them?"

"I did."

"Hurting people is wrong."

The Nord raised his brow, "if a man opens his coin purse, I will be a trader. If he makes speeches I will be a diplomat. If he teaches then I will be a student. If he wishes to learn, then I will be a teacher. But if he meets me with blade in hand…" the words hung there in the cold, misty air.

The child considered this for a moment, and then said, "I think hurting people is still wrong. Two wrongs don't make a right."

The corner of the man's mouth curled upwards into a half-smile. "Dibella truly does speak through you, young one."

They strode in silence down the rocky trail for a few minutes more, listening to the wind against the canyon walls, and the roaring river.

"I don't want to be Sybil," said the child.

"That does not matter."

"I will be away from my parents!"

"And they will miss you dearly, no doubt. It still does not matter."

"Yes it does!"

"Do you believe in Dibella?"

"Of course!"

"Then it does not matter. Your god's needs must come first. You must do the right thing."

The child glared up at him but stayed silent for a while longer. Far above their heads, trees grew out from the Cliffside, and up towards the sky. Several birds erupted from their leaves and swooped out towards the mouth of the canyon. In the far distance, barely a speck on the horizon, a dragon roared and circled far overhead. The man's eyes narrowed, watching it carefully.

The child said, "do you believe in Dibella?"

"All Gods carry power."

An amulet of Talos hung about his neck, swaying gently with each step he took. The girl's eyes followed it.

"You worship Talos?"

"Yes."

"Maybe I worship Talos instead. Then I couldn't be Sybil, right?"

The warrior frowned, thinking before he spoke, "Worship is nothing to be taken lightly, little one. You should not change gods as you would a tunic."

"Why not?"

"It offends them, and more importantly it dishonors you. Stand by your people. Stand by your god, little one."

* * *

A Thalmor patrol approached, moving towards them from the far end of the ancient moss-covered stone bridge. Three tall elves with arrogant eyes and sharp blades.

The man stopped in his tracks and examined the trail. They were too far to retreat, and to either side was a long fall and roaring rapids. There were no bushes, and no thick undergrowth in which he could hide the child.

She was staring at the approaching elves, young eyes wide with fear.

"Young one!" the Nord barked.

"They're not going to hurt us, right?" she asked.

"This far from other Nords? They may try. Thalmor have no honor." He quickly produced a small dagger and handed it to her, "keep this close."

"I don't want to-"

"They may not give you a choice!" he snapped quietly, "Aim for the groin if you must."

"You should hide your amulet." The child told him. "They hate Talos, right?"

"I will not."

"But-"

"I will not! This is Skyrim. Home of the Nords. Home of Talos. They may go back to their homeland."

She glanced at the patrol, which was nearly upon them, and slowing as they passed.

"But… what if they attack you?"

"Then they attack me."

"What if they kill you?"

The Nord shrugged his shield off of his shoulders and held his sword loosely in his hand. "I must see to it that they don't."

They waited on the cold cobbles, standing aside to leave the Thalmor an open trail. It seemed, for a moment, that the elves were going to pass them by, but their leader, a hooded female, veered off to confront the Nord. The girl shrank behind his legs, peering at the tall warriors and their flowing green armour which shone in the noon sun, reflecting leafed patterns across the Nord's thick fur tunic.

"Remove that amulet. Worship of Talos is illegal, Nord."

The Nord stood defiant. "So you claim."

The elven woman's cold yellow eyes narrowed. "You do not respect your own country's laws."

"I respect _my _country's laws."

The warriors flanking her each laid a hand on the hilts of their swords.

"Skyrim is part of the Empire. The Empire has an agreement with the Thalmor. Thalmor law is Imperial law is Skyrim law. Surrender the amulet."

The three elves stared at the Nord, who stared back evenly. He said, "No."

The elvish woman took a long, deep breath through her nose. She said, "so be it."

The Nord struck first, using his shield to bash her with enough force to toss her to the ground. The elves on either side drew their swords, but he was faster. He slammed his shield into the opponent on his left, knocking the elf back a few steps. At the same time, he swung his sword out at the third target, his blade crashing across the man's chestplate, leaving a heavy dent.

The second elvish warrior had recovered and was charging at him, shield in hand. The elf was bellowing a challenge and swinging his sword down from on high in a mighty blow aimed at the Nord's collar bone.

The man blocked the blow and thrust his blade forward, the tip finding a seam in the elf's armour and slipping through. The Nord followed through, wrenching his sword out the side of the elf's abdomen and nearly slicing him in half, the move turned into a spin as the warrior brough this sword up and across the elf's throat, neatly taking his head off.

The witch had recovered and she screamed as she rose to her feet. Lightning crackled between her fingers and she threw it forward, arcing an almighty bolt across the Nord's chest and arm, burning his clothes and singing his hair. "Time for you humans to learn your place!" she snarled.

The Nord went for her immediately, moving with startling speed for such a swarthy man, and she pedaled backwards as fast as she could as he raised his sword for a killing strike.

He was intercepted by the second elvish warrior, who hit him with a shoulder bash and knocked his sword away.

The elf thrust with his own blade, whipping back and forth and stabbing repeatedly as he tried to land a killing strike on the troublesome human, but the man danced away, using his shield to fend off the worst of the elf's attacks, and keeping the warrior between himself and the Thalmor witch.

Angered beyond caution, the elvish warrior rushed forward bringing his sword down in a heavy attack, trying to smash through his opponent's airtight defenses.

Yet this was exactly the opening the Nord had been waiting for. He struck like a snake, bashing with his own shield and knocking the Thalmor's sword away. His second strike was with the edge of his shield and he crushed the elf's windpipe, bringing his heavy steel shield down in a final killing blow, cracking the thalmor's skull open with a sickening crunch.

Having ended his second target, the Nord spun around to confront the elven witch, who had not been idle, and had circled behind him.

Yet she had pulled out a dagger, and was already inside his defences even as he turned. She plunged the blade into his side with an enraged screech, lightning arcing from her other hand to burn his face and chest. The knife plunged in and out twice more as the Nord struggled with the sudden agony. His sword and shield both hit the ground.

His opponent was taller and faster, but he was the stronger. Even as she stabbed him, he wrapped his hands around her throat and slammed both of them into the side of the bridge, her neck against the capstones which decorated the parapet. She reversed her grip on the knife and jammed it into his shoulder in one last ditch attempt to free herself of his grip. He leaned in until they were nose to nose and said,

_**FUS RO DAH!**_

And the world was rewritten. The elf's head blew out backwards, as did a large section of the bridge she was pressed against. Blood and stone rained down upon the churning rapids below, and the Nord let the corpse fall to the cobbles.

The child's jaw dropped as her rescuer's identity became clear.

The Nord slipped sideways, slumping against the parapet until he landed beside the corpse of his enemy. He sat there, back against the cold stone. Bubbles of thick red blood formed at the corners of his mouth as he gasped and wheezed. He reached up with an unsteady hand and pulled the elvish dagger from his shoulder. It clattered to the ground beside him.

"Oh divines…" the child knelt beside him, pressing her hands against the wounds in his chest. Blood soaked through his furs and ran between the cobbles. "…don't die. Please don't die."

"I ca… I can't…" the Nord's head flopped back against the capstones and he stared at the sky, eyes dazed and unfocussed. His hands fell to the cobbles as weakness spread through his limbs.

"Don't die!" the girl slapped him across the face as hard as she could, nearly knocking him onto his side. But his gaze sharpened, and with great effort, he clenched one of his hands into a fist, shining with tendrils of orange light. The Nord's eyes shut, and after a few seconds enough strength returned that he opened both hands, creating a ball of healing magic over his chest. He winced and gasped, eyes widening as the nearly fatal wounds closed. Slowly his breathing evened out, and the blood flow weakened to a dribble, and then stopped entirely.

He sat up straight and blinked. Then looked at the girl and smiled.

She was kneeling beside him, her hands covered in his blood. "Why did you kill them?" her tone was sharp. Cross, with undertones of fear and anger.

"They told me to die."

"They told you to give them your amulet."

"They asked me to forswear my god. To give up my faith and my honor. To not be what I am: a Nord." He spat a gob of blood out onto the cobbles. "That is as good as death."

"Couldn't you just lie?"

"I shouldn't have to. If they require me to, then they are in the wrong."

" 'Stand by your god?' " she asked snidely.

"It's about more than your god, little one. It's about your people. Your community. Your right to be who you are, and live or die with it if you must. But always do what you think is right. Make your choice. The consequences do not matter."

She rose to her feet and turned away, stepping carefully around the pools of blood.

"I will take my dagger back." The Nord said.

Wordlessly she produced the unbloodied weapon and tossed it to him.

The Nord stowed it away and struggled to his feet. "It really bothers you, doesn't it? All of this violence…"

"The world seems so cruel…" her arms were crossed as she hugged herself and stared out north across the valley with its sheer cliffs and pure blue winding river.

"It is." The Nord came up to stand beside her, his shield at his back and sword at his side. "But it is also beautiful."

"We should make it better."

"I am not sure it is possible."

"You are the Dovahkiin, right? That was a Thu'um. You shouted that elf to death. Like a Dragon shouts. You can do something."

"To be honest, sometimes it feels like it takes all I have just to keep everything from getting worse." The Nord said quietly.

The child looked up at him and said, "if I go to Markarth and the temple. If I become the Sybil, people will listen to me? They'll follow me?"

"They will."

"The way you follow Talos?

"Yes."

"And I can change the world?

"…in your own way. You would be doing your part."

She smiled and looked back out across the Reach. "I would like that. But I do not want to leave my parent's. My home…"

The Nord stayed silent.

"And what will you do then? If the world changed?"

"Go home to my wife and daughter." He said.

The girl stared up at him in shock. "You are not with them now?"

"I must do what I feel is right."

"Don't you miss them?"

"Yes. It does not matter."

"You could die! And you would never see them again!"

"Yes. It still does not matter."

She stared down at her bloody hands, and they slowly closed into fists. She squared her shoulders and said, "Take me to Markarth."

* * *

**Skyrim is absolutely fascinating. Not in its similarities to Fallout, but in its differences. **

**Fallout 3 and New Vegas were big centralized stories about survival and nation-building. I find when I write for them my brain spins multi-chapter epics to match. **

**Skyrim? Skyrim is about the little moments. The individual missions and seconds-long encounters. The little battles and moments of honor and betrayal. All glimpses into a wider world. It translates into my writer's brain as one-shots and short stories. **


End file.
